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Retailers, marketers, and service providers are at an ideal point to capitalize on a massive opportunity to elevate the classic brick-and-mortar shopper experience.

With a comprehensive, intelligent, and customizable mobile solution, all stakeholders—from the retailer to the service provider to the consumer—can realize major, measurable benefits from embracing emerging mobile technologies.

But implementing a major technical rollout of a mobile shopping solution can be overwhelming, time-consuming, and cost-prohibitive for retailers.

Supporting the wide variety of devices and platforms on the market today, as well as developing a comparable experience for customers who do not have smartphones, can add further complexity and challenges.

Moreover, applications that are not deployed effectively or that have inherent flaws can create a massive backlash by the social-media community.

Nevertheless, the opportunity is too great to pass up. And it's not as daunting as it sounds.

A Massive Market Opportunity

Integrated mobile technology is nearly nonexistent in the brick-and-mortar retail world, although 79% of shoppers use Web or mobile phones to get product help before buying in­store, according to the Wall Street Journal. Bringing those users real-time information while they are physically in the retail environment opens up vast new opportunities for targeted promotions, upselling, and an improved customer experience.

According to the Wall Street Journal, 24% of retailers' revenue is lost because customers can't find what they came to buy. To solve that problem, shoppers need to be engaged prior to, during, and after the shopping experience.

Some 83% of consumers have trouble finding what they are looking for in stores, while 67% say they would take advantage of mobile technologies if made available in the stores they shop. (National Consumer Research, Bryles Research study, 12/08)

Mobile technologies can transform customer experiences by offering product searches, in-store navigation, digital shopping lists, in-store coupons, reviews, and much more, all in one place. Those solutions would make shopping easier, faster, and more enjoyable. The potential is limitless.

The Customer Experience

As the industry begins to engage with the new world of mobile retail, it's important to step back and consider how we can add personalization and a human touch to the experience. Creating a customized experience is one of those critical emotional ties to technology and shopping that keeps users coming back time and again.

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Evolving the Customer Experience With Mobile Technology

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nathan Pettyjohn is the founder and CEO of aisle411.